Crime statistics indicate that Mpumalanga is also heavily burdened with crime and Witbank is in ninth place as regards the precinct in South Africa with the highest crime rate. Nearly 224 000 incidents of crime have been reported in this province during the last financial year.
According to Crime stats SA, 18 984 crime-related complaints were lodged in Witbank that range from schedule 5 and schedule 6 crimes, like murder and sexual offences, to less serious crimes like car robberies and white-collar crimes.
Other dangerous regions in the province include Bosbokrand with 124 Bosbokrand at business premises, Nelspruit with 1243 cases of car theft and Skukuza with 147 incidents of illegal possession of firearms.
According to the figures, the murder rate in the province did not increase and remained more or less the same over the last five years, roundabout 1000 murders per year. A total of 3496 incidents of sexual offences were reported.
The FF Plus is worried about the high levels of crime in the province. It serves as proof that the police in Mpumalanga are not succeeding in keeping citizens safe.
The abovementioned statistics regrettably do not give an indication of the prosecution and the number of convictions that result from the reported cases.
The FF Plus will pose questions to the province’s MEC for Safety and Security, C.G. Tshabalala, regarding the high levels of crime and the police’s plans to combat it.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Werner Weber on FF Plus
South Africa Today – South Africa News
